CRUISIN’ WITH RAY - ADVANTAGES
10 REASONS TO TRAVEL BY CRUISE
1. Your travelling hotel room. At the port of embarkation, once your luggage is left on the wharf, it is delivered to your cabin or suite within an hour or so, making only once unpacking and packing at the end. Your own mobile hotel room.
2. A new port or country on a possible daily event. The excitement of a new port or country each day. The exploration of new ports adds another dimension to your trip of a lifetime, and in most cases you spend 6 – 8 hours in port. Also, say on a Mediterranean cruise, you can visit 6 ports in 7 days.
3. Often the airfare is included with the cruise. Shop around for that airfare inclusion. Huge savings can be found as the major cruising companies have massive buying clout.
4. All of your gastronomic meals are included. Each cruising company has their individual eating arrangements with the large cruise ship still having a la carte dining. This system is being gradually superseded by what they call “freestyle” or choice options, which allow you to dine at any time of the day in more casual but neat clothes. Fabulous food is always available and one has the chance to experiment and savour the exotic tastes of the world.
5. Tipping, which is mandatory, often now can be prepaid. A number of Australian cruise companies are now giving you the ability to prepay your end of cruise tips, which relieves that eternal tension at the end of the cruise, of “how much”.
6. Tea, coffee, and iced tea are included in the price but usually alcoholic drinks are not. On most cruises, alcohol is tabbed on your cruise card, payable at the end, and beware, often water is an extra cost.
7. All entertainment is included. The larger cruise ships have a top class entertainment show as well as art auctions. On say an Alaskan Inside Passage cruise, specialist lecturers come on board and demonstrate how the glacier system works. A word of warning re: the art auctions, at the time they look great, but years later, that art work may be still lying in the back room.
8. If you are a fitness fanatic, gyms are onboard, but you do pay for the privilege. Fitness can be maintained during a voyage with designated walking lanes around certain decks and often organised games are available, such as virtual golfing, surfing (flow-rider surf park), bowling, indoor rock climbing, volleyball, basketball, ice-skating, aerobics and much more. The variety of activities available is only limited by the creativity of the Director of entertainment.
9. A beautifully relaxed mode of travel. If your need is to completely relax, then this can be accommodated in absolutely palatial surroundings. Sumptuous food is laid on, ranging from a healthy foundation to a gastronomic delight. Tours to historic or exotic sites can be purchased, or if your ship is moored near the centre of town, one can wander through the back streets of a very historic city for nothing.
10. The ability to take a second cruise with a pre-cruise city stay and an after-cruise city stay. Food for thought. Take a 7 day Eastern Mediterranean cruise, then a city stay such as Venice, followed by a 7 day Western Mediterranean cruise. Before you start the cruise, take a city stay at an historic European city, and then follow up with another stay in another city at the end. Hopefully your travelling senses are now at a wonderful high.